Tension device



F. B. RIDGWAY ET AL TENSION DEVICE Dec. 7 192a. 1,609,962

Fild Jan. 9, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 TRAVERSE BAR v INVENTOR- Dec. 7,1926. 1,609,962

\ F. B. RIDGWAY ET AL TENSION DEVI'CE Filed Jan. 9, 1926 2 Sheets$heet 2 I I, wylNVENTOR Ju z //ZI/LI ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 7', 1926.

UNITED STAT ES PATENT orsics.

FRANK n. RIDGWAY, or KENMORE, AND ARTHUR n. GUENTHER, or BUFFALO, NEW

YORK, .ASSIGNORS'TO DU POINT RAYON COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF BUFFALO,

' nnw YOR A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TENSION DEVICE.

Application filed January revolved suitable means, and a traverse l The bar is provided. to guide the thread, so that it will travei'bach and forth along the length of the snooi as it is wound thereon. U thread is wound upon the ends of the spool in the form a frustrum of a cone, as is known in art. The guiding means on the traverse bar and through which-the thread passes has in the past been in the form of a pigtaii rigidly secured to the traverse bar. This arrangement operates with a fair degree of success, so long as the diameter of the coiled thread on the spool is to be uniform throughout the length of the spool. However, because of the frustro-conical shape of the wound thread at the ends of the spool, which shape is obtained by means known in the art and which need not be described here, it has been found that the thread forming the frustro-conical portions has been relatively softened as compared to the rest of the thread. This is because of the fact that tension on the thread is greater in the central cylindrical portionof the spool of thread than at the frustro-conical ends. The next operation after winding the thread upon the spool is to twist it, durin which operation the spool is rotated at a high rate of speed, the thread being pulled vertically off one end thereof. The loose, soft ends of the thread, durin this twisting operation, cause damage to'the finished product by breaking the' filaments thereof.

It is, therefore, the primary object of our invention to provide a tension device which shall exert a uniform degree of tension upon a thread as it is wound upon a spool, regardless of the 'diar'neterof the spool and of the thread wound thereonl .This object is achieved by providing an arm pivotally mounted on the traverse bar and carrying the pigtail through which the thread is inserted and which acts as a guide therefor.

9, 1926. Serial No. 80,150. i

The form of guide known as the pigtail is known in the art, and is normally formed of porcelain and the like, and is mounted upon the end of an arm of metalflor .some other material which is relatively cheaper thanthe porcelain. This arm is usually of smaller diameter than the pigtail, and the result is the formation of a shoulder at the place where the pig-tail ,joins the arm. ll hen the thread is being inserted into the pigtail, it is usually moved along the arm and so close thereto as to be in danger of being caught by theshoulder referred to above. When it is so caught, the result is a tearing or damaging of the thread. Unless great care is used in placing the thread through the pigtaii, this tearing or damaging iswery apt to follow. L

it is, therefore, another object of our-invention to provide a construction of arm to support a pigtail and which has means for protecting a thread which is being insorted in the igtail.

In the accompanying drawings in which we have shown a selected embodiment of our invention: v

Figure l is a front elevation of a device having our invention embodied therein.

Figure 2 is a section of the line 2--2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a detailed view of one of the pigtails, the view being taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. I

Referring now to the drawings the numoral 1 designates a suitable support, such as a table, upon which is mounted a plurality of drums 2, one only of these drums,

however, being shown in these drawings.-

Ourdrum is adapted to contain one or more cakes ofrayon from which therayon is'unwound in the form of a thread 3. This thread is led upwardly through the pigtail 4, overithe roller 5, and through the pigtail 6 which is mounted upon the arm 7 which is held in proper position to tension the thread by means of an adjustable weight 8.

Revolubly mounted adjacent the lower end of the drum is a spool upon which the thread is to be wound. This spool may be com-nuieutly supported in brackets 9, which have bearings for the reception of the removable axle 10 of the spool. The spool is rotated from a shaft 11 by means of a suitable friction drive exemplified by a disk 12 contacting with the friction pulley 13 upon the axle of the spool.

Disposed adjacent the spool and parallel thereto is a traverse bar 14 which is adapted to travel lengthwise and which carries means to guide the thread on to the spool. This bar travels back and forth at the proper speed to insure that the thread is properly wound upon the spool. Such an arrangement 1s well-known in the art. lihe guide means on the traverse bar may be in the form of the usual pigtail 15, but instead of being rigidly secured to the traverse bar, as is customary, we prefer to mount this pigtail upon an arm 16, which may conveniently be in the form of a rod or stifi wire bent at its other end to form a transversely extending portion 17, which is received within a bearing 18. The

' end of the transversely extending portion 17 may conveniently be bent as shown at 19 to prevent displacement from the hearing. The hearing may conveniently he tormed of a piece of strap metal 20, which is adjustably secured to the traverse bar by means of one or more screws 21 which pass through slots in the strap and into the traverse bar.

By the provision of the tension device which is described the thread, as it is wound upon a spool, is maintained at a constant tension regardless of the diameter of the wound thread or of the spool- It will be noticed that the weight of the arm always urges the thread toward the spool, and thus tends to tighten it as it is wound thereon.

in other words, the action of the tension device is to cause the spool to wind the thread tightly, because of the exertion of an opposing tension on the thread, this force being exerted in a direction opposite to that exerted by the rotating spool. As the diameter of the wound thread or of the spool varies, the arm rises and falls, because of its pivotal mounting in the bearing 18, and at the same time it moves withthe traverse bar in its travel parallelto the axis of the spool. Under many conditions the more weight of the arm itself is sufiicient; but, when the device is beingemployed with heavier rayon or when it is desired to produce a somewhat harder spool or cake of thread, the weightof the arm may be supplemented by the provision of an additional weight. This weight may be in the form of a block slidably mounted on the arm and held in adjusted positionby a set screw This construc tion exemplifies a weighted'arm together with means for adjusting theweight on the arm. I

In Figure 8' we have shown a detailed view of a pigtaihwhich is the name'given in the art to a guide in the form of a loop, and into which loop a thread may be inserted by movement lengthwise of the guide. That is. a thread is usually'placed in theiapproximate eoaeea by the end and which end isspaced from the rest of the guide member sufficient to permit the thread to pass into the loop, as is well-known in the art. So long as the thread contacts only with the pigtail which, as

stated above, is usually made of porcelain or the like, the thread is not damaged. However, it requires care to prevent the thread from coming into contact with the shoulder 25 formed by the end of the porcelain memher, at the point where it is joined to the arm 16. To avoid this damage to the thread, we haveprovided the arm 16 with. the bend 261, so that the main portion of the arm will be offset from the pigtail but generally parallel thereto. The bend 26 is in the form of two oppositely disposed curves27 and 28,

the curve 27 being disposed sufiiciently near the shoulder 25 so that, if the thread is,

placed in the approximate position indi cated at 29 and then moved toward the pigtail, it will pass directly from the arm to some such position as that shown at Qd-and will not engage the shoulder 25. The above described arrangement exemplifies a guard disposed upon the arm adjacent the pigtail and preventing a thread coming into contact with the shoulder formed at the point where the pigtail is joined to the arm. While we have shown this construction as employed in connection with the pigtail; 15, it is to be un derstood that it may also be employed in connection-wvith the pigtails 4 and 6, 'al-- though to avoid confusion such construction has been omitted from the drawing.

We claim:

1.1n adevice of the class described, .a

sp'ool'upon which a thread is adapted to be wound, a guide adjacent said spool and in position to direct the thread thereto, and a pivotedar m upon which said guide is mounted, the weight of said arm urging it toward said spool to tension the thread as it is wound upon the spool. I

2. In a device of the class described, a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound, a guide adjacent-said spool and in position to direct the thread thereto, a pivoted arm upon which said guide is mounted, the weight of said arm urging it toward said spool to tension the thread as it is wound upon the'spool, and a weight on said arm to increase the tension on said thread.

3. In a device of the class described, a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound, a guide adjacent said spool and in position to direct the thread thereto, a pivoted arm upon which said guide is mounted, the "weight of said arm urging it toward said spool to tension the thread as it is Wound upon the spool, a weight on said arm to increase the tension on said thread, and means to adjust said weight along said arm to vary said tension.

4. In a device of the class.described-, a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound, means to rotate said spool, a traverse bar adj acent said spool. and an arm pivoted to said traverse bar and having a guide disposed adjacentgsaid spool.

5. In a device of the spool upon which a thread is adapted to be' wound, means to rotate said spool, a traverse bar adjacent-said spool, an arm pivoted to said traverse bar and having a guide disposed adjacent said spool, and a weight on said arm to thread.

6. In a device of the class described, a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound,-means to rotate said spool, a traverse bar adjacent said spool, an arm pivoted to said traverse bar and having a guide disposed adjacent said spool, a weight on said arm to increase the tension on said thread,

mounted in said bearing. and a guide on said arm and adjacent said spool to guide the thread to saidspool, the weight of said arm tensioning the thread as it is wound upon the spool.

8. In a device of the classdescribed, a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound, means to rotate said spool, a traverse .bar adjacent said spool and having a bearing mounted thereon, means to adjust said bearing on said traverse bar, an arm pivotally mounted in said bearing, a guide on said arm and adjacent said spool to guide the thread to said spool, the weight of said arm tensioning the thread as it is wound upon the spool, and a weight on said arm to in crease the tension on said thread.

9. In a device of the class described, a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound, means to rotate said spool, a traverse bar adjacent said spool and having a bearing mounted thereon, means to adjust said bearclass described, a

increase the tension on said,

and adjacent said spool to guide the thread to said spool, the weight of said arm tensioning the thread as it is wound upon the spool,

a weight on said arm to increase the tension on said thread, andmeans to adjust said weight along said arm; to vary said tension.

10. Ina device of the class described, a guide through which a thread is adapted to pass and comprising a member of relativel large cross section, an arm of relatively sma 1 cross section upon which said guide is mounted, a shoulder being formed'at the joint between said member and arm, and a guard disposed adjacent said shoulder to prevent contact of a thread with said shoulder when being inserted in said guide.

11. In a device of the class described, a guide through which a thread is adapted to pass and comprising a member of relativel large cross section, an arm of relatively sma 1 cross section upon which said guide is mounted, a shoulder being formed at the joint between said niember and arm, a guard disposed adjacent said shoulder to prevent contact of a thread with said shoulder when being inserted in said guide, and said guard comprising a portionot said arm.

12. In a device of the class described, a guide through which a thread is adapted to pass and comprising a member of relativel large cross section, an arm of relatively sma 1 cross section upon which said guide is mounted, a shoulder beingformed at the joint between said ineinber and arm, a guard disposed adjacent said shoulder to prevent contact of a thread with said shoulder when being inserted in'said guide, and said guard comprisin a loop in said arm whereby the guide is o setfrom the arm.

13. In a device of the class described a spool upon which a thread is adapted to be wound. a guide adjacent said-spool and in position to direct the thread thereto, a pivoted arm upon which said guide is mounted, and means urging s d arm toward said spool to tension the thread as it is wound upon the spool,

' In testimony whereof, we have aflixed ou signatures to this specification;

FRANK'B. RIDGWVAY. ARTHUR E. GUENTHER. 

